Emergency Crane Checklist: Tadano 75 Ton and 500 Ton Machines, Support Trucks, and Air Compressors

If you're here because you typed how to unlock loader risk of rain 2 into Google, you're in the wrong place—but not entirely. Unlocking the Loader in Risk of Rain 2 requires a specific set of in-game conditions. Unlocking a Tadano crane as a reliable lift on a deadlined job requires a specific set of conditions too. The difference is that the crane's conditions are written down, and they don't care if you've done the job a hundred times.

In my role coordinating crane rentals for industrial construction, I've handled 200+ rush orders in eight years. Last quarter alone, we processed 47 urgent bookings with 95% on-time delivery. These were not nice-to-have deadlines. Missing one would have meant a $50,000 penalty clause on a refinery turnaround. That pressure is why I built this checklist—and why I still use it every time a Tadano 75 ton crane or a Tadano 500 ton crane leaves the yard.

Who this checklist is for

This is for the person who gets the call on Tuesday and has to have a crane lifting by Friday. It's for the site supervisor who just found out the load is 300 kilograms heavier than the plan. It's for the rental coordinator responsible for the crane, the truck, the compressor, and the weather at once.

If you came here looking for a Risk of Rain 2 Loader unlock guide, bookmark this anyway. The loader you need to unlock here isn't a character; it's the crane's operating mode. And the risk of rain is real.

The 8-point emergency checklist

Before you begin, know the difference between urgent and rushing. Urgent means you have a real deadline and you still do every check. Rushing means you skip steps and hope. The first is how we get 95% on-time delivery. The second is how we get callbacks.

1. Confirm the crane model and load chart

Do not trust the rental quote. Do not trust the yard foreman's memory. Verify the serial number and match it to the load chart in the operator's manual. A Tadano 75 ton crane and a Tadano 500 ton crane have different charts, obviously, but even two 75-ton machines can have different boom lengths, counterweight options, and tire configurations. The load chart is the contract between physics and your deadline. According to OSHA's crane standard, pre-shift inspection is not optional just because you're late. I only believed this after skipping that step once and eating an $800 restart fee. Now it's non-negotiable.

2. Check the counterweight configuration

A 500 ton crane with the wrong counterweight can be less capable than a 75 ton crane with the right setup. If the job calls for a 500-ton chart, count the counterweight slabs, check the pins, and confirm the rear ballast is locked. I should add that the counterweight is often split across multiple trailers. Missing one pin is just as bad as missing an entire slab. This is also the step where a 75 ton crane gets overconfident: the machine is smaller, so the crew assumes the counterweight is automatic. It's not.

3. Inspect the carrier truck and support vehicles

A crane that passes inspection can still be late because the truck under it doesn't work. On a truck-mounted or all-terrain crane, the carrier is part of the lifting machine. Check the tires, brakes, lights, registration, and hydraulic connections. And check the support vehicles too. In 2023, a client's Hess truck—a fuel service truck, with the Hess name on the side—arrived with a dead PTO pump. The crane was fine, but the refueling truck shut down the lift for half a day. Looking back, I should have asked for photos of the truck before dispatch. At the time, it felt like over-checking. It wasn't.

4. Verify the Milwaukee air compressor and pneumatic tools

Tadano cranes use air systems for carrier functions and some accessories. If the crane has a leak, or if the crew needs to blow out a fitting, the compressor becomes the unsung hero. Milwaukee is a common name on our rental fleet; their portable compressors are compact and dependable. I want to say the larger unit runs around 1.6 SCFM at 90 psi, but don't quote me on that—check the model tag. The point is to test it before dispatch. A compressor that won't hold pressure is just another delay in a box.

5. Unlock the loader—the step everyone forgets

This is the closest thing I can offer to a how to unlock loader risk of rain 2 answer. On a Tadano all-terrain, the machine has an operating mode that needs to be selected on the IC-1 controller. Before crane mode is unlocked, the slew lock, boom rest lock, or outrigger locks will keep the machine from moving even though the engine runs. That's not a breakdown. It's a safety feature. The mistake is to fight the controller. The faster move is to walk around the crane and physically check the slew lock, outrigger lock pins, and road mode indicator. Once those are unlocked, the controller unlocks the next stage. Ten minutes of checking saves a 45-minute call to the service engineer.

6. Respect the risk of rain rule—check it twice

If you're not playing Risk of Rain 2, the risk of rain is a job site factor. Rain changes the ground under the outriggers. Wind changes the effective radius. Tadano load charts include wind speed assumptions, and a 'chance of rain' forecast is not a single fact—it changes. My rule is simple: check the weather when you start the checklist, then check it again two hours later. At least, that's been my experience with deadline-critical projects. I've never seen a crane fail because the operator didn't believe in math. I've seen a lift get delayed because nobody re-checked the rain.

7. Run a no-load function test

After the outriggers are set and the crane is level, run every function with no load: boom up, down, extend, retract, swing, and winch. If the controller shows a derate warning, stop and find out why. The crane is not 'probably fine.' Probably is how rework starts. The prevention rule repeats: five minutes of verification beats five days of correction. I've watched a single missed air line turn a one-day lift into a three-day repair.

8. Document the release

Take a time-stamped photo of the load chart, counterweight, truck license plate, and air compressor pressure gauge. Send it to the client before dispatch. The documentation isn't for lawyers; it's for clarity. It also forces one final look at every item on this checklist. If the photo shows a locked slew pin, you catch it in the yard instead of on site.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Skipping the load chart check because it's a Tadano 500 ton crane—capacity is not a vibe.
• Assuming the carrier truck already has fuel and a working PTO. The Hess truck is not just a name; it's a piece of equipment.
• Forgetting to unlock the slew lock or road mode before switching to crane mode. The controller is not lying.
• Leaving the Milwaukee air compressor at the shop because it's small. Then the only thing you've saved is the trip to fetch it.
• Doing one weather check and never looking up again. The risk of rain is real, and it changes.

Final thought

I'm not 100% sure how to unlock loader in Risk of Rain 2 without looking it up. But I am sure that unlocking a real loader on a Tadano crane is a process, not a guess. If you're in an emergency, you don't need more courage. You need more checks.